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NEW YORK — Wall Street rebounded Tuesday, rising moderately as crude oil surged more than $2 a barrel and triggered a rally among energy producers. Investors regained their optimism about corporate profits after a series of positive earnings reports.

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Energy prices spiked after the Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the U.S. will double the size of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Prices were already rising as a cold snap in the northeast United States was seen increasing demand for heating fuels in the region.

Exxon Mobil Corp. led blue chips and was among the Dow Jones industrials’ biggest gainers, while fellow refiners ConocoPhillips and Chevron Corp. also surged during the session. The advance in oil stocks helped the Dow recover from a steep decline Monday, its biggest drop in two months and a reaction to investor uneasiness about earnings.

The markets also got a lift Tuesday from
robust earnings reports from United Technologies Corp.
and Texas Instruments Inc. This helped offset a warning from telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent that it would not post a profit during the fourth quarter because of a steep decline in sales.

“Earnings are not coming in all that bad,” said Brian Gendreau, an investment strategist with ING Investment Management. “There is an absence of any real bad news, leading indicators are up, and companies are not falling off the table. That’s consistent with the modest rise in the Dow.”

The Dow Jones industrial average finished the day up 56.64 points, or 0.45 percent, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was up 5.04 points, or 0.35 percent. The technology-rich Nasdaq composite index added 0.34 point, or 0.01 percent.

Bond prices fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.81 percent from 4.76 percent late Monday.

As has been typical in previous sessions, oil companies got a boost on the rebound in crude prices. The refiners stand to benefit if the government expands its reserves. Exxon Mobil rose $1.59, or 2.2 percent, to $74.49; ConocoPhillips was up $1.59, or 2.9 percent, at $64.97; and Chevron increased $1.34 to $72.88.

This helped investors shake off Alcatel-Lucent’s statement that it post a loss for the first full quarter since combining in last year’s $11.6 billion deal between France’s Alcatel and Lucent of the U.S. The company blamed integration costs and weaker sales because of consolidation among its customers.

However, technology stocks were up overall after chip maker Texas Instruments reported a robust quarterly profit and was upgraded by several Wall Street firms. Shares rose $1.01, or 3.5 percent, to $29.60.

United Technologies, which makes everything from air conditioners to aircraft engines, reported fourth-quarter profit rose 38 percent, which sent shares up $2.05, or 3.2 percent, to $66.14.